A female elephant was found electrocuted beside an illegal electric fence on an agricultural land in Tamilpuram hamlet of Madahally village, Thalavady, on Tuesday.
The offender, Josi alias Joseph of Jorai Hosur hamlet in Madahally village, had drawn power for the fence directly from his house. Cases were registered against the offender by both Electricity and Forest Departments. Accompanied by senior officials, District Forest Officer C.H. Padma inspected the spot. A post-mortem examination was conducted at the spot by Wildlife Veterinarian Manoharan.
Last July, a male elephant calf was electrocuted in similar circumstances in another hamlet in Hassanur area, due to flouting of official norms by farmers putting up fences. Not all farmers who put up fences to protect their crops from elephants, deer and boards follow the rule that the fence must be electrified with direct current. Farmers who electrify their fences with Alternating Current are prosecuted under Section 9 of Wildlife Protection Act 1972 that deals with hunting of wild animals and intent to hunt, and also Electricity Act. According to officials, an electric fence is supposed to be only a psychological barrier and not life-threatening.
The Forest Department has been emphasising on prioritising digging of trenches over putting up electric fences to prevent animals from destroying crops. During 2013-14, the Forest Department dug elephant-proof trenches to an overall length of 80 km in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve at an average unit cost of Rs. 4.54 lakh per km, official sources said.
